Son of the Flying Dutchman
by Ekko Rayne
Summary: Post "Dead Man's Chest" 10 yrs have come to pass and Will is able to once again step foot on land. What he finds there is not his lady love, Elizabeth, but a young lad holding the chest that contains his heart.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters or story lines from any of the four movies. All rights are reserved for its creator and Disney and other respected parties.**_

_A/N: This is post "Dead Man's Chest" and the death of Will Turner and he becomes the captain of the Flying Dutchman. This is the story of what happens when Will is allowed back on land for the first time in ten years. It's cute and sweet._

oOo

**Son of the Flying Dutchman**

_Ten years have come to pass… _

_On a full moon night the Flying Dutchman _

_arises from the depths of the sea and its captain_

_seeks out the one who holds his heart._

_With thoughts of love and endless passion on his mind_

_he sets foot on land as his eyes seek her out,_

_but it is not she who is there holding his heart captive…_

"Will father come tonight?"

Elizabeth Turner gazed down at her son from her perch beside him on the bed. "Aye he will. Ten years have passed since his last return to land."

"Mum tell me the story."

"Will you never tire of the story, my son?"

Settling deeper into his coverings William Jack Turner gazed up at his mother expectantly patiently awaiting the beginning of the tale he now knew by heart, but when his mother told him the tale of his father her voice wove magic into the story. It was his favorite story; one of pirates, heroism and of the sea he loved as much as his mother. It was a tale that told of how he came to be as well as a tale of love between a captain and the lass he loved.

Elizabeth chuckled softly at her Will's silence as he waited for her to begin the tale. Taking a deep breath a voice dropped to a soft octave. She began her tale:

"_The __Flying Dutchman_ was an infamous supernatural galleon. The_Dutchman_, as it was commonly called, was first given to Davy Jones by his love, the sea goddess Calypso, who granted Jones captaincy with the duty of ferrying the souls who die at sea into the next world for ten years."

"After ten years he could return to land right?"

She smiled down at young Will knowing he knew the answer to his question, but it was all part of the way they told the tale together. "Aye after these ten years were up, Jones would be free to return to Calypso, who promised to meet him on land after his duty was complete. However, Calypso betrayed Jones," she dropped her voice lower to add a sad note to the tale.

"But Davy Jones still loved his sea goddess?"

"He did indeed, but her betrayal cut him deeply which resulted in Jones cutting out his still-beating heart, and locking it in the _Dead Man's Chest_. Jones abandoned his duty, instead to wreak havoc on the seas, forcing dying sailors into one hundred years of servitude aboard the _Flying Dutchman_ and unleashing the Kraken upon merchant and pirate vessels alike.

Many years later, the crew of the _Black Pearl_ would run afoul of the Dutchman due to the debts of her captain, Jack Sparrow."

"The pirate that helped you and father?"

Elizabeth nodded as visions of her past with Will and Jack flashed through her mind. "Aye, the very one. Now Sparrow tried to escape service aboard the _Flying Dutchman_ by possessing the heart of Davy Jones. But Jack Sparrow failed in his attempts and the heart instead found its way into the possession of Lord Cutler Beckett of the _East India Trading Company_, courtesy of James Norrington.

With Davy Jones' heart in his possession, Beckett sent the _Dutchman_ to sink countless pirate ships across the Seven Seas, eventually forcing a final confrontation with the Brethren Court off the coast of Shipwreck Cove."

"You were part of the Brethren, one of the seven pieces of eight."

"I was. I gained my captaincy of a vessel from Singapore when its captain died."

"And then you became King of the Pirates."

"Aye young Will I did at that."

Will nodded signaling to his mother that he was once again listening.

"The _Flying Dutchman_ became locked in a titanic battle with the _Black Pearl_. In the midst of the chaos, William Turner, your father, stabbed Jones' heart, thereby killing Jones, and replaced him as captain of the _Dutchman_. With Jones' death, both the ship and its crew returned to their true forms and aided the pirates in destroying the _HMS __Endeavour_, and defeating Beckett.

After the battle, Turner set about fulfilling the duty for which the ship was originally designed for forever sailing the Seven Seas until one night every ten years he could return to land and to the woman who waited with his heart."

"But Jack Sparrow wanted to become the captain of the _Dutchman_ didn't he?"

"Aye _Captain_," Elizabeth stretched the word causing Will to giggle, "Jack Sparrow had high hopes of immortality as the captain of the infamous ship. However in a moment of selflessness, something never very common to our Jack Sparrow, in your father's dying moments Jack helped him stab through the heart of the wicked Davy Jones."

Will grew quiet as he thought of her words. To him all her grand tales of pirates and her time on the sea were mesmerizing to his young ears, but none more so than the tale of his father and Elizabeth knew that her son had a serious case of hero worship, but what little boy didn't see their father as their hero? Standing she left her son to contemplate in silence as she moved to his bedroom window.

The sea was dark almost silent in the night. The only reflection was that of the full moon mirroring in its dark depths. There was a gentle breeze coming off the water cooling the stifling summer air surrounding their home on the very beach that young Will was conceived ten years prior.

_Will, will you come tonight? It's been ten years to the day. Where are you?_

As if the answer her question she saw ripples began to break the still surface of the sea just before the bow of the ship emerged. Turning to her son she could see the excitement flickering in his eyes, but she knew that he was nervous about meeting his father. His small body radiated his nerves. Elizabeth knelt down before him taking his small hands in hers. "What ails you young Will?"

"Will he like me?"

"He will love you."

Her son was silent a minute as he gazed past her to stare out his window as the _Dutchman_ came fully in sight. "Are you certain?"

Elizabeth smiled. "More than certain. Would you like me to accompany you?"

Will shook his head. "No I want to meet him on my own."

"Then you better get going young Will. You shouldn't keep the captain waiting."

She watched as her son scrambled out of bed and pulled his boots on. Her eyes wandered to the chest that had been sitting on the stand next to Will's bed. A steady beating could be heard coming from within and the sound echoed the rhythm beating a tattoo against her ribcage. Turning back to her son she motioned to the chest. "Don't forget the chest Will. Don't fret he will recognize it for what it is."

Her son took the chest and made his way to the door. Elizabeth followed and when she opened the door for her son she welcomed the salty smell of sea air as it caressed her face like a lover's touch. Her son stopped in the doorway studying the _Dutchman_ in the distance. Elizabeth gave him a gentle nudge. "Away with you lad."

Elizabeth watched as her son scampered down the expanse of beach to the massive rock where she and Will had parted way ten years prior. In the distance she could see the small boat bringing Will to shore and as she stood there a tear escaped and made its trek down the smooth surface of her cheek.

oOo

Will Turner scanned the beach looking for his lady love, but his eyes befell a small boy in her place. He was curious as to the identity of the lad who held his chest in his hands, but looking up towards the soft glow coming from the window of the home high above the shore he spotted Elizabeth watching so he knew the lad was not a threat.

When he approached the lad took a step back in retreat. In the bright glow of the moon Will studied the boy's eyes. Fear, curiosity and determination warred for domination in his gaze as he held it steady with his own. "Who might you be young lad?"

The boy squared his shoulders and kept his eyes on his. "I am William Jack Turner, son of the captain to the _Flying Dutchman_."

Will's eyes widened at the admission. "Be you now?"

"Yes sir."

"How old might you be?"

"I am nine and several months."

Will studied the boy more closely and was amazed to see his features staring back at him, a hint of Elizabeth softening the even now angling features of the lad's face. He held no doubt that the lad was indeed his son. Warmth spread through him at the thought that he and Elizabeth had created such a strapping young boy.

"Where be your mother young William?"

"I am here Will."

Will turned out the melodious sound of his love's voice. He had not heard her approach as he had studied the boy that was his son. He took in the sight of her. After ten long lonely years she was still every bit as beautiful as he remembered. Time had not aged her one year. It was if she were an immortal goddess forever frozen as he remembered her.

"Elizabeth."

The sound of her name on his lips brought the tears spilling from her eyes as she raced the few steps distancing her from him. When she felt the strength of his arms wrap around her she felt like she was home again. "How I've miss you."

"As I have missed you Elizabeth." Will turned his eyes to his son who stood silently watching them. He pulled away from Elizabeth and knelt down eye level with the lad. "Come here lad."

Elizabeth bent down to her knees to kneel in the sand next to her husband as her son eyed him only a moment before gently placing the chest down and rushing into the arms that Will held open. Tears burst forth anew as her family was united for the first time. She could see the silent tears spilling from her son's eyes as he embraced his father for the first time in his young life and the mirroring tears pooling in Will's eyes as he held their son. When he reached out an arm Elizabeth folded herself into his embrace and took solace in his strength.

For the first time in ten years, since he had been forced from Elizabeth's side to captain the _Dutchman_, Will felt blessed. He never would have thought that good fortune would smile down upon him as it had, but he grateful. For the first time in as long as he could remember he had a family, he was a part of something special. Giving Elizabeth and William a last night embrace he stood and motioned towards the home high on the hill.

"Come lad I will regale with tales of the sea."

Elizabeth watched as Will led their son up the shore towards their home. She made to follow, but stopped glancing over her shoulder at the majestic vessel known as the _Flying Dutchman_. Memories of all that had happened abroad that ship flashed in her mind and some of it still sent shivers down her spine especially the memory of her Will's death. Shaking herself she turned away from the galleon and turned her eyes towards her future. The _Dutchman_ may have claimed her Will, but she still had William.

Picking up the chest that held her love's heart she smiled. She knew that she would never free herself from the ghost of the _Dutchman_, but she feared not of that. She loved the _Flying Dutchman's_ captain and she loved the son of the _Flying Dutchman_ just as much. The great vessel had given her that and she was eternally grateful. Smiling bigger at that she followed the retreating figures of her two Wills as they disappeared inside the cozy little cottage already able to hear the spinning tales of pirates and sea lovers coming from inside. With one last glance back she entered and smiled at the sight of the _Dutchman's_ captain and his son seated together while one told tales and the other laughed and watched on with eyes full of love and hero worship.

oOo

_A/N: Will this was my first POC story and I don't think it turned out too bad. I think I could have done a little better, but at least I tried. If anyone has any ideas that they think would help make the story better please fill free to let me know and I will consider it when I update. Thanks for reading. Please review._


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